Terror lawsuits can serve as intel gathering tool, says lawyer.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs - Michael Elsner of Morley Rice LLC investigates fraud accusations on Arab Bank PLC

Money is the fuel for terrorists, and it may be their Achille's heel, said Michael Elsner, an attorney representing victims of suicide bombings in Israel.

His firm, Morley Rice LLC of Mt. Pleasant, S.C., is assisting in a lawsuit against Jordan-based Arab Bank, which has allegedly used its branches to transfer funds to the families of terrorists.

The Aug. 9, 2001 suicide bombing of the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem killed 15 and injured scores. Among those who lost their lives, and whose family is part of the lawsuit, was an American, Shoshanna Greenbaum--a pregnant schoolteacher. Oron Almog/Gila Afrait-Jurtzer v. Arab Bank Plc alleges that the bank knowingly distributed funds from the Saudi Committee to the families of "martyrs" in suicide attacks in Israel. The lawsuit was filed in the Eastern District of New York, and in January a judge allowed the case to proceed. The bank has a branch in New York City.

The firm, also part of a similar lawsuit on behalf of 9/11 victims, has uncovered 2 million pages of financial records on the financing of 9/11 and terror attacks in Israel, he said.

"We focus on those who provide financial support or aid and abet terrorist networks," he said. "We allege in our lawsuit that the Arab Bank directly and knowingly provided financial support to Hamas and other designated terrorist groups," Eisner said at the Global Security Asia Conference in Singapore.

The discovery process, when attorneys gather evidence and depose witnesses, is an overlooked intelligence-gathering tool, Eisner said. Nothing they uncover is classified.

So far, they have secured 180,000 transaction records from Arab...